The 13 types of pain: classification and characteristics

What kinds of pain exist and what is their origin?

Whether it is acute or chronic, in the head, back or tooth, pain can seriously interfere with a person's life and can be highly disabling.. Pain follows trauma or may be the symptom of an injury or disease of which we were unaware.

Whatever the cause, pain can emerge in different places and with different intensity. In this article we review the different types of pain..

One of the first causes of medical visits

Pain is a very unpleasant sensory and emotional experience that we have all felt at one time or another.. It is one of the most frequent reasons for medical visits and represents a serious problem for a large part of the population. In Spain it is estimated that 6 million adults suffer from pain, that is, 17.25% of the adult population.

Pain affects the lives of individuals, causing serious emotional and psychological problems, and is even, on many occasions, a reason for sick leave from work. The suffering associated with pain completely invades all the emotional and cognitive processes that are taking place in our mind and cause all our attention to shift towards intense suffering. When pain accompanies us, our life changes completely.

• Recommended article: "The 8 worst pains we humans suffer".

How pain works

The idea that the perception of pain depended solely on physical damage, in which the receptors in the affected area sent signals to the brain and pain was simply felt, has been obsolete for years. The inadequacy of this theory to explain pain such as phantom limb pain (when a person loses a limb but continues to feel pain in that area even though it is no longer there), led the world of science to mobilize to find answers to the question of why people feel pain.

One of the most significant findings is that of Ronald Melzack, which gave rise to the neuromatrix theory.. This theory explains that the diffusion of pain and its transmission through the body is due to a complex system involving various areas of the central and peripheral nervous system, autonomic nervous system and endocrine system, directly influenced by various psychological, emotional, genetic and social factors. This idea is subsequent to the one formulated in 1965 by Melzack and Patrick Wall, called the Control Gate Theory.

According to the Control Gate Theory, pain is composed of three dimensions:

• Sensory or Discriminative.The sensory or discriminative: the physical properties of pain.
• Motivational or AffectiveThe emotional phenomena of pain.
• Cognitive or EvaluativeCognitive or Evaluative: in reference to the interpretation of pain according to attentional aspects, previous experiences, sociocultural context, among others.

In other words, the perception of pain is not direct, but there is a modulation of the message at the level of the spinal cord.. In order to feel pain it is necessary for the brain to receive the message. This implies that in order to experience pain, the arrival of this information is necessary, but before reaching its destination, there is a gateway which, depending on whether it opens or closes, the pain is felt or not. The control gate depends on physical, emotional and cognitive factors.

The types of pain that exist

Pain can be classified in different ways. Below you can find a list of the different types of pain.

Depending on the duration

Depending on its duration, pain can be classified in different ways.

Acute

This type of pain acts as a warning of real or impending pain, is of short duration and contains little psychological component. and contains little psychological component, since it does not give time to think about it and the implications of the injury that causes it. An example is the pain that arises after a contusion or a musculoskeletal fracture.

2. Chronic pain

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for more than six months.. The prevalence of this type of pain in European populations is approximately 20%. It is accompanied by a psychological component, since in addition to being an unpleasant experience in itself, it is a constant reminder that certain parts of the body are failing or not functioning as they should. It is, for example, the pain suffered by cancer patients.

If you want to know more about chronic pain, you can read our article: "Chronic pain: what it is and how it is treated from Psychology".

Depending on the source of the pain

Depending on the source, the pain can be....

3. Physical pain

Physical pain is a painful sensation that actually exists somewhere in the body..... It can be the consequence of a slight blow or a serious trauma (for example, a break), a bad posture or an illness. Some examples are: back pain or toothache.

4. Emotional pain

Emotional pain is a subjective experience in which the person has a wound that no one can see.. The causes can be different: a breakup, a change of city, the dismissal from a job ... Regardless of the cause, it has its origin in not knowing how to manage the change of life and not having the necessary resources to cope with the new situation.

• If you are interested in going deeper into this subject, you can do so by visiting our article: "The 10 keys to deal with emotional pain".

5. Psychological pain

Psychological pain may seem to be the same as emotional pain, but it is not exactly so. Psychological pain is what is known as somatization of pain.It has its origin in an emotional state (stress, anxiety, sadness, etc.) and is reflected at the physical level or in the form of disease.

Depending on the pathogenesis

According to the pathogenesis, pain can be classified into the following.

6. Neuropathic

Neuropathic pain is a stabbing pain.It is a burning sensation and is usually characterized by the sensation of increased pain produced just after the injury. It is caused by a direct stimulus in the CNS or a lesion in the nerve pathways. Some examples are: post-chemotherapy peripheral neuropathy or spinal cord compression.

7. Nociceptive

It is the most common. Occurs by stimulation of a normally functioning intact nervous system.. It is a beneficial type of pain for the organism since it is a protective action to avoid greater damage and to proceed to the repair of the tissue and its regeneration. There are two types: somatic and visceral.

8. Psychogenic

Unlike the two previous ones, its cause is not nociceptive stimulation or neuronal alteration, but its cause is psychological.. Some psychic variables that influence this pain are certain beliefs, fears, memories or emotions. It is a real pain and therefore requires psychiatric treatment of the cause.

Depending on the location

Depending on the location, pain is classified as....

9. Somatic

Occurs due to the abnormal excitation of somatic nociceptors in the skin, muscles, joints, ligaments or bones.. Treatment should include the administration of non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

10. Visceral

It is produced by the abnormal excitation of visceral nociceptors, and may affect areas far from the site of origin.. Colic, pain from liver metastasis and pancreatic cancer are examples of this type of pain. Opioids are used for its treatment.

Depending on the intensity

Depending on its intensity, the pain can be...

11. Mild

It is the least intense pain. The person with this type of pain can perform daily activities. Pain can become so low that under certain circumstances it is not perceived and "disappears" completely simply because of distractions or a correct management of the attentional focus.

For example, in many cases, inflammation of the gums produces a mild pain (although this does not mean that it cannot become a serious problem if it becomes more serious).

12. Moderate

Pain with a certain intensity that interferes with daily activities.Although it does not totally disable the person and usually the person can continue to live an autonomous life to a greater or lesser extent. Requires treatment with minor opioids.

13. Severe

The most intense pain. It not only interferes with daily activities, but also with rest. Its treatment requires major opioids and is so incapacitating that it makes the person dependent on third parties, whether friends, family or caregivers.

Other types of pain

In addition to the above, depending on the affected area, there are different types of pain: back pain, headaches and migraines, toothache, etc. It is worth mentioning a very painful disease called fibromyalgia, characterized by chronic muscle pain of unknown origin, accompanied by a feeling of fatigue and other symptoms.

Also, a pain that has awakened much interest in the scientific field is phantom painThe phantom limb, a term introduced by Silas Weir Mitchell in 1872, is suffered by some people who have lost an arm, a leg or an organ and who continue to experience the sensations of amputated limbs.

• You can learn more about this curious phenomenon in our article: "The phantom limb and mirror box therapy".